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There are only three slots left in the grand finals of the Road to The Nationals, one from the Iloilo qualifiers this weekend and two from next month’s qualifiers in Cavite. And we’re putting Quid Pro Quo, one of the first teams to qualify for the tournament, in the spotlight to find out a bit more about them as we wait for the event’s grand finals to be held at the Esports and Gaming Summit in October.

Quid Pro Quo was one of the two teams from Manila that qualified for the tournament, with the other being Sterling Global Dragons. The squad was initially started back in August of last year with the teams owners and managers preparing the organization while scouting for new talent to be part of the team’s roster. By September of the same year, the first iteration of the Quid Pro Quo squad was formed. The squad began making a name for themselves in the local scene by bagging several tournament wins under their belt.

Quid Pro Quo’s current roster is composed of Pedro Angelo ‘Efking’ N. De Paula IV (Captain/Support), Jinn Marrey ‘Palos’ Lamatao (Carry), Julius ‘JG’ Galeon (Mid), Matt ‘@supaTakz!’ Jimboy (Offlane), and Alchino ‘Shanti’ Yusores (Support). The team hails from all over the Greater Manila Area with two of its members coming from Pampanga, another two coming from Pasig, and the last being from Novaliches.

The team was fully prepared when they entered the qualifiers in Manila, playing a considerable amount of scrimmages to solidify their playstyle while also studying the playstyles of the teams that could prove challenging to beat. De Paula commented, “we prepared strategies against them that could lead us to victory”. Their preparations proved beneficial as the team won quite handily in their last match in the qualifiers against Young Minds.

According to team captain De Paula, the squad’s biggest strength lies in their ability to communicate well and stay calm in every situation. He adds that their advantage against other teams is their unorthodox playstyle and their willingness to experiment with different drafts and builds. When asked about the current competitive meta, De Paula stated “the current competitive meta today is all about trying to dominate all the lanes and being consistent until you can end the game. It’s all about the laning stage.”

As Quid Pro Quo heads into the grand finals of the Road to The Nationals in October, the team is keeping mum on their preparations for the big event, only sharing that they’ve changed their playstyle once again. De Paula added, “I can’t say anything about our practices. But I’m sure you’ll be surprised with what we will do this coming October at the Grand Finals of the Road to The Nationals.”

As previously mentioned, only two qualifiers for the Road to The Nationals remain. The Iloilo qualifier will be held this weekend, September 29, at Localhost Cafe while the Cavite qualifier will be held on October 13, 2018, at UGZ Imus. After all the qualifiers have concluded, all eight finalists will converge at the grand finals of the Road to The Nationals at the Esports and Gaming Summit from October 26 to 28, 2018.